


Helianthus

by clinquantsylph



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:21:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28532109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clinquantsylph/pseuds/clinquantsylph
Summary: Chazz and Atticus take a break from a PR event and Chazz has a realization.
Relationships: Manjoume Jun | Chazz Princeton/Tenjouin Fubuki | Atticus Rhodes
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Helianthus

Chazz scowled as his eyes surveyed the courtyard in front of him. The idle sound of insects buzzing hummed near his ears as he swatted the flies away.

“Chazz, I dunno why you always complain about these things. It doesn’t seem too bad.” Atticus held out a glass for him to take. “I figured you didn’t want wine or anything this early in the day, so I just got you some water.”

Chazz took a sip and then swirled the glass so the ice would shift. “Thanks. I guess it’s different when you haven’t been forced to come to events like this your whole life.” He looked up at Atticus. “I’m here usually to enhance the ‘perfect family’ image that helps my dad’s company out so much. Y’know, more people are inclined to donate and buy into a product if it’s run by a family man.” Chazz scoffed and took another sip. “He also gets to brag about his kids’ successes as if he had any role in getting me where I currently am.”

Atticus frowned slightly. “At least your mom is usually here when you’re stuck at these things.” He looked around and found the woman in question trapped in a conversation with Chazz’s father and another pair of guests.

At this rate, Chazz’s mood was turning sour and he would end up drunk and moody before the presentation stage of the gala even began. Atticus looked around and an idea popped into his head.

“Why don’t we walk around for a bit and just get away?”

Chazz looked at him quizzically. “Go where? The other side of the courtyard?”

Atticus sighed. “No, you dork. Your dad’s event is literally at a botanical garden. I don’t think anyone would care if we wanted to explore the grounds.”

Chazz gave another cursory glance and nodded. “Yeah, I think that would be nice.”

Atticus smiled. “Come on, I bet they won’t even notice. Don’t wanna bring them with us, do we?”

Chazz gave a quiet laugh and shook his head. “No, not really.”

The two made their way to exit the courtyard to access the rest of the garden, and Atticus grabbed his bag from the gala attendant. He dug through the bag and pulled out a floppy hat that he immediately placed on Chazz’s head.   
  
Chazz frowned. “Atticus, I’m  _ not _ wearing this.”

Atticus was fiddling with the closure pull on his bag, but stopped to look at him. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize protecting your skin from the sun was such an inconvenience. We could always check the gift shop for a parasol that I can carry around for you.”

Chazz’s cheeks flushed a deep red. “I think I’ll just wear the hat. Thanks.” He reached up to adjust the brim and started walking toward the first section of the garden.

The pair entered a quiet, walled section of the garden. English ivy crawled along the stone, and thistle nearly as tall as Chazz greeted them at the entrance. Lavender wisteria laced itself along the overhead trellis and they continued through the garden. The walkway was framed by Delphinium and Phlox as the walls receded and opened to reveal a rose garden. Chazz led the way through the maze of roses, stopping to gently touch a few of the variants along the way. Chazz stopped in front of a shrub sporting pale pink tea roses.

Atticus gave him a sideways glance. “Are these your favorite?”

Chazz shook his head. “No, they’re mom’s favorite. These are all over the place at home.” Chazz was quiet for a few moments. “I don’t really understand the hype behind roses, there are so many flowers that I don’t see how someone can find a rose to be the nicest one.”

“Well, what’s your favorite?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t want to just pick one and find out later that it’s wrong.”

“Let’s try to find it.” Atticus continued along the path leading out of the rose garden. The walkway leading up to the bridge was framed with hostas and gladiolus of varying colors. The bridge was shaded by a large willow, with plenty of water lilies waiting to bloom on the water’s surface below.

Upon crossing the bridge, the garden opened up into sweeping vistas dotted with different colored flowers and a carillon tower at the highest point. A prairie extended beyond the current portion of the garden, and appeared to be separated by another bridge.

“Do you want to walk around this island and then head back?” Atticus asked.

Chazz pondered. “I kind of want to see the prairie. We can be a little late to the cocktail hour.”

The pair strolled along the paths winding through the hills of the island until they made it to the bridge leading to the prairie. All along the paths, small name plates for each of the plants were present. They passed along various patches of little bluestem and other grasses, echinacea, and wild bergamot. Chazz stopped in front of a patch of sunflowers that had somehow grown to be taller than Atticus. He looked at the bronze plate down below to read some of the info.

_ Helianthus annuus. _

Bees buzzed lazily around the flower heads as Chazz continued to read. Atticus interrupted his train of thought.

“Hey, did you know these things, like, follow the sun?”

“Well, they are called sunflowers.”

“Uh, that’s because they look like a sun, dude.”

Chazz rolled his eyes but smiled. “Any other fun facts?”

“I read somewhere that when the sun disappears or it’s cloudy they turn to face each other.”

“Atticus, I don’t know enough about these flowers, but that sounds kinda fake.”

Atticus pouted. “Okay, Mr. Plant Scientist.” He turned his attention back to the giants before him. “I like this one.” He pointed at a flower with a stalk nearly six feet tall. The rays were a deep orange near the center that faded to a golden yellow at the tips. Chazz stood on his toes to try and get a better look.

“And that one is you.” Atticus continued as he pointed at a much smaller flower.

Chazz furrowed his eyebrows. “And why am I the small one?”

“For one, you’re shorter than me.” Chazz playfully hit his arm before he continued. “And for two, it’s a pretty resilient plant.” Atticus pointed at the various smaller plants that were wrapped around the stem. “It’s also helping those around it.”

Had Chazz’s face not already been tinted pink due to the heat, it would have flushed even more. They stood and watched the bees for a while longer, interested to see how each insect chose its specific flower. Atticus sighed contentedly and laced his fingers with Chazz’s.

“I think we should probably start to head back. Don’t wanna be late to your dad’s event.”

Chazz reluctantly agreed, and they left the sunflowers to head back to the carillon island. As they walked along the path back to the event courtyard, the carillon bells began to chime overhead. Chazz looked to the sky as the sun began its descent to the West. Streaks of pink and orange broke through the light cloud cover. As they approached the courtyard, Chazz took off the floppy hat and ran his fingers through his hair. Atticus took the hat and put it back into his bag.

“Thanks again for bringing the hat. I definitely would have roasted in the sun out there in the prairie.” Despite having been covered, Chazz’s nose and the tips of his ears were still tinged pink.

“Not a problem. If you hadn’t worn it, I would’ve.” Atticus handed his bag back over to the gala security and continued inside with Chazz. Slade approached the two as soon as they made it into the courtyard.

“You two were gone for a while.”

“We just went to look through part of the gardens, Slade. I figured we may as well since we’re here.”

Slade scowled. “You’re lucky mom was able to cover for you. You know dad’s peers want to talk to you since you just launched your pro dueling career.”

Chazz rolled his eyes. “They’ve got the whole night to talk to me. If not, I’m sure they can find my manager’s info.”

Atticus waved his hand awkwardly at Slade as Chazz pulled him over to the seating area where his mom currently was. She looked Chazz up and down as he took the seat next to her. Atticus looked around to find something to occupy his time as he sensed Chazz and his mom needed to have a quick conversation.

“Uh, it looks like the bar’s open. Want me to get you something, Chazz?”

Chazz thought for a few seconds before answering. “An Old Fashioned. Top shelf bourbon. The orange and cherry garnish is fine. Thanks for offering.”

Chazz sighed and turned to see his mom staring at him.

“You seem to be in a better mood than usual.”

“It was nice walking around the garden for a bit. It was one of the first times I’ve gotten to relax since everything picked up.”

His mom hummed with a knowing smile. She stood and rested her hand on his cheek. “Behave tonight, please.” She smiled at Atticus as she made her way back to her husband to relieve him of his conversation.

Atticus took her seat and placed the drink in front of Chazz. Soft string instruments continued to play in the background as the quartet began another song.

“So, are you in trouble because Slade’s a narc?”

Chazz smirked. “Not yet. She told me to play nice tonight.” He looked around at the various groups of people. “I might even be able to swing a few new sponsors out of this.”

“I’m sure I could help with that. You know how good I am at charming people.” Atticus winked.

Chazz laughed and took a sip of his drink. “I’m sure you’ll be more effective than me. Especially once they find out you used to run the junior international league.”

The two sat in silence and looked at the different guests. Atticus abruptly stood. “I’ll be right back. This guy over here used to work with my dad.”

Chazz nodded and watched as Atticus left. As he gently moved the stirring stick around his glass his mind drifted to their earlier conversation at the sunflowers. Atticus was right about one thing. Chazz was similar in nature to a sunflower: resilient, standing proud above the rest of the prairie. Hopefully a household favorite, and known all over. However, Atticus had severely misinterpreted another aspect. He himself was not a sunflower. No, he was the sun itself. Atticus, his bright and cheery personality, his willingness to make friends with everyone. Even more, he was the celestial giant that Chazz orbited. Heliotropism in plants may have been debated by scientists since the time of the ancient Greeks, but Chazz knew without a doubt that it existed in humans. Just as the sunflowers moved from the East to the West throughout the day, Chazz would follow Atticus as long as he let him. Chazz smiled to himself as he took another sip. As long as his sun still existed, he had a definite favorite flower:  _ Helianthus annuus _ .


End file.
